Hello again Kookmin Review readers! Half the semester is already over and the weather is growing warmer and warmer by the day. How were your midterm exams? Are you looking forward to getting high grades for this semester? It’s said that after midterm exams, some students give up on studying and on their dreams of getting good grades. As such, they don’t seem enthusiastic and loose.

At this point in the semester, I’d like you to believe that we can all seize opportunity! Don’t be that student who thinks negatively and feels like they’ve failed ─ instead, think positively and be passionate. We still have other big tasks that affect our grades, such as reports, presentations, and, of course, final exams. I hope you all make the most of this time and remember that, as the famous saying goes, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

When your body doesn’t feel good or you get hurt on campus, where should you go? The answer is simple: the Medical Service Room. The Medical Service Room is located in the student union building, in Room 401, located on the building’ s fourth floor, and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. during the semester and from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. over break. In the Medical Service Room, students can fill prescriptions and get medicine after having words with a doctor. This is how most students use the center.

Yet the Medical Service Room does a lot of other helpful work. Students can also get first aid for any health problems, including injuries and wounds. The doctors give first aid, such as disinfection, and then bring students to a clinic for additional treatment. Students can also get free health-re-lated counseling. The Medical Service Room also contains a number of machines capable of measuring blood pressure, weight, height, and body temperature. Students can check their urine’s glucose and protein levels, and get a blood-sugar test. Based on reliable measured data, students can understand their body’s condition. 

Among the campus notices, articles related to health and safety are provided by the Medical Service Room. The center posts in newspaper and campus notices, both online and offline. Students can also get information related to getting anthelmintics that kill stomach-based parasites. 

The Medical Service Room gives anthelmintics to students once a semester. This semester, the center distributed the antiparasitic drug on May 8 and 9. The distribution usually takes place in May and November. It seldom holds events related to healthy living. For example, it held an anti-smoking and responsible drinking campaign with SeongBuk District Public Health Center last year. 

▲ Self first aid kit

Groups of students or a student organization can rent first aid boxes from the Medical Service Room, although they can only do so for the purpose of university-related events inside and outside of the campus. It’s helpful for big events, such as volunteering in rural areas, field trips, and club activities. The center also lends crutches to students with leg injuries. Lastly, students who inevitably don’t feel good because of an illness or severe cramps can rest in the Medical Service Room. The center has infrared light irradiator for fomentation, which is good for blood circulation and reducing the pain of a sprain. 

To get more information on the Medical Service Room, the Kookmin Review interviewed some of the center’s doctors. The following are edited excerpts from the interview. 

How many students usually visit Medical Service Room in a day?

It’s very different. It depends on the season. On average, at least 80 to 100 students visit the center. And when the season changes, almost 100 to 150 students come to get medicine or rest.

What is the purpose of most students’ visits?

Most students visit the Medical Service Room because they have a cold, a headache, or indigestion. Some female students visit the center to get painkillers for their cramps. Nowadays, some students surprisingly have trouble with dust allergies. As you know, the air condition is really bad these days because of yellow dust and PM2.5 fine dust. Some students occasional-ly visit because of contusions, abrasions, and other injuries. 

What kind of specific help can students get here?

We have about 50 kinds of medicine here that can help students are sick. When students come and explain how they feel and what their symptoms are, we can offer the correct first aid medicine. Students can also get simple disinfectant care and treatments like a gauze dressing. We can’t sew up wounds here, so we just do first aid and then ensure students go to the hospital for better care.

▲ Notices in the medical service room

Hepatitis A is common in the metropolitan area, including Seoul, nowadays. What should students know about the infectious disease?

First of all, Hepatitis A is an infection spread by people’s saliva. It’s unsure how people get this disease, but it seems that it’s spread through contaminated foods that contain human excrement. Try to keep your hands clean and eat boiled, rather than raw, foods ─ and beware of shared foods eaten collectively. Hepatitis A causes fever, loss of appetite, and a yellowing of both the skin and the whites of the eye. The liver, which is the affected organ with this particular disease, has difficulty recovering. Once it is damaged, it will never recover 100 percent. Moreover, it’s dangerous because Hepatitis A can lead to liver cancer, cirrhosis and hypofunc-tion of the liver later on. Everyone is born with one liver and it’s not a self-recovering organ. As such, we should all be careful and prevent Hepatitis A from spreading. 

The Medical Service Room also posts articles in campus notices. For more information, read the article or visit the Medical Service Room to get advice about Hepatitis A. Though healthy living and safety are always best, if you need some help in medical way, use the Medical Service Room.

Ha-Been Kim   
The Kookmin Review Editor-In-Chief
gkqls6549@gmail.com